High pressure inflatable packer



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INVENTOR. Ofau I3. @fa/JC E7 6M 7 sheets-smet 1 J. LYNES.

HIGH PRESSURE INFLATABLE PACKER Original Filed Jan. 29, 1943 Sept. 23, 1952 Sept. 23, 1952- J. LYNES HIGH PRESSURE INFLATABLE PACKER' '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 original Filed Jan. 29, 1943 INVENTOR.

JOHN LVA/e5.

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HIGH PRESSURE INFLATABLE PACKER 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Jan. 29, 1943 III .i

INVENTOR.

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Q TURA/EVS Sept. 23, 1952 J. LYNEs HIGH PRESSURE INFLATABLE PACKER 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed Jan. 29,*1943 lol sept. 23, 1952 J. LYNES 2,611,437

HIGH PRESSURE INFLATABLE FACKER Original Filed Jan. 29, 1945 7 Sheets-Shet'S 3B e` 39 //lll, y

6l "ll/l l 65 35 Jo/f/vLy/vf. INVENTOR. @faz-, @2,18

Sept. 23, 1952 J. LYNESv 2,611,437

-HIGH PRESSURE INFLATABLE PACKER Original Filed Jan. 29, 1943 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 v IO l JOHN W55 INVENTOR.

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HIGH PRESSURE INFLATABLE PACKER Original Filed Jan. 29, 1943 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 J0/e//V1//\/f5. INVENTOR. w# fum Milug@ Patented Sept. 23, 1952 HIGH PRESSURE INFLATABLE PACKER John Lynes, Houston, Tex., assignor 'to Lynes, vInc., Houstom'Tex., a corporation of Texas Original application January'29, 1943, Serial No.

473,928. .Divided .and this application December 17, 1948,'Serial`No. 65,843

1'2 Claims. (Cl. 1'66-110) The invention lrelates to a high pressure hydraulic inilata'ble packer `for isolating a section of a formation at any desired elevation'in'a well bore.

In the drilling of 'wells by a vrotary method a drilling mud "is circulated into and out of the well bore. This vdrilling mud is often made exceptionally heavyby Vadding finely ground heavy chemicals thereto. In' some instances the specific gravit-y'is'raised to '2,-so that A#a columnof mu'd in the well bore will create a tremendous static pressure upon rthe face of the formatlonadjacentto'the bottom of va hole. For instance, in a 11,500 ioot lwell lled with drilling mud having a specic gravity of V2, there'would be-'a pressure of approximately 10,000 pounds per square inch on vthe face of the `formation.

The presentinvention is in the nature of an improvement over `the apparatus shown in my prior Patent No'. 2,227,731, dated January 7, 1941, and constitutes an improvement'in the arrangement of the packer structure.

It is one of the 'objects of Ythe invention rto provide a hydraulic packer'which can be sealed in a well bore so as to exclude high pressures.

Anotherobject of the invention is to provide va hydraulic inatable packer which can be set to withstand substantially 'high pressures.

Still another object of the invention isfto provide a testing tool'packerwhich canbe manipulated in a well bore against extremely high pressures.

`Stillanother object of the invention is to provide an arrangement of fabrication of "a resilient reinforced type of hydraulically iniiatable packer whereby the ends-are securely'anchored to prevent rupture due to high pressures.

Other'and further objects ofthe invention will be readily apparent when the following description is considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 make up composite vertical sectional views of the tool in condition to be run into the well bore.

Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 form a composite view illustrating in vertical section the tool after it has been run into the hole and manipulated to iniiate the packers and open the tool for circulation above the packers.

Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12 form another composite View with the tool opened'to the isolated section of the formation between the packers so as to discharge Aor receive fluid.

Figs. 13, 14 and 15 are'vertical sectional views of the lower end of the tool illustrating the' vari- 2 ous 'steps in opening 'the Vtool 'for v'circulation be#- low the packers.

Figs. 16, 1'7 and 18are1sectiona'lviews'taken on the Vlines I6-I'6, I'I--II'and Ill-I8 respectively of Figs. 1, 2 and 4. v

Figs. 19 and '20 illustrate diagrammatically a side elevation of 'thetool set inpositioninthe Well boreand particularly illustrate vthe surface equipment for manipulating and rotating the` operating pipe.

Fig. "21 is fa section taken vOnline A2I--2'I vol. Fig. 19.

Fig. v22 is avertica'l sectional view showingl the yparts. and construction vin the vfabrication of lthe end of jthepac'kers.

Fig. '23 shows a modied arrangement 'of Fig. 22.

Figs. 19v and "20 'illustrate the v'general assembly in'whichv the 'tool is illustrated-generallyat 2 tand includes'the 'foot piece Ior'bottom 3, the'lower packerassembly 4, theintermediate discharge or entry section 5, the upper packer, the circulating section "I, the operating pipe S'and ythe-hydraulic lift I0 in combination with'the swivelv I3 and the Awell head assembly I4.

The tool will 'be assembled by connecting together the various parts in the order in which they have been named Vand gradually lowering the tool into thewell bore'u'ntil the packers 4 and 6, see Fig. 20, are spaced below and'above 'respectively'o'f the isolated sectionof the formation which is to 'be'treatecl or' tested.

The manipulating equipment at thesurface includes a rotary I5 which "may grip the pipe with a suitable set 'of rslips or other driving members I6. These slips also serve to supportJ the operating pipe 8 and the tool 2. During the movement and operation of the Ytool as will be later explained, it is necessary to'raise and lower vthe operating pipe and to effect its rotation. To `accomplish this ahydraulic lift I'I .is shown'as having been disposed on the rotary table. 'I'his lift includesthe cylinders I8 and the plungers I9 which are connected to a ring20 which, in turn, receives the slips I6. By operating the hydraulic Vpumps 2I in a suitable manner this lift 20 may be adjusted as desired. An indicator 22 shows the exact position of the pipe which lis importantbecause the longitudinal movement of theoperating pipe serves to open and close the tool and the circulation portsA invpracticing the method.

In order that suitable flow line connections may be made with the pipe 8 a swivel I3 is provided so that the'section of pipe 8 may be rotated by the rotary table I5 while the uppersection into the well bore and illustrate the operating or manipulating pipe 8 which is connected to a coupling 30. This coupling, in turn, is connected to a nipple 3| mounted in a swivel box 32 so that the pipe 8 may rotate independently of the tool 2 which is carried by the swivel box 32.

A centran control pipe a4 islthreaded into-the swivel box 32 and by means of various jointed sections extends entirely through the tool.

Mounted on this central control pipe 34 is a housing 35 which is ma'jde up of a plurality of sections in which a slidable non-rotatable connection is mounted at 36 so that the control pipe and the housing 35 are non-rotatably connected. A stuing box 31 provides a seal above this sliding driving connection.

The next element of the housing 35 is a pipe section 38 disposed about the control pipe 34 and having a discharge port 39 therein adjacent its lower end as best seen at the top of Fig. 2. It will be understood that the control pipe 34 is slidably, or telescopically mounted in the housing 35, and this control pipe has a series of openings 40therein which are normally disposed between the sets of packing 4| on the inside of the housing section 38 so that iiuid pressure occurring in the inside of the control pipe 34 will be cornpletely sealed off against leakage in the housing.

The control pipe, however, is capable of telescoping movement inside ofA the housing section 38, due to the provision of the coil spring 42 mounted between the swivel box and the gland 31. Thus it is possible to telescope the control pipe relative to the housing so as to bring the openings 33 and 40 into registration witheach other when it is desired to effect circulation eitherfrom within the-operating pipe into the well bore outside of the tool or the reverse thereoffrom outside of the tool into the control pipe. These ports are shown aligned to permit circulation either into or out of the tool at the top of Fig. 6. The port 39 is safeguarded by suitable packings 4|, 42 so as to also prevent leakage along the inside of the housing.

A nipple 43 is threaded on to the lower end of the section 38 and is recessed at 44 to receive a flange 45 on the support sleeve 46 which sleeve has an upstanding extension 41 disposed in a recessed area in the lower end of the section 38. When the nipple or coupling 43 is tightened on the housing section 38, this sleeve 46 will be firmly anchored with respect to the housing section 38 and nipple 43.

This sleeve 46 in combination with the nipple 43 serves as an anchorage for the upper end of the packer assembly 46. This packer assembly is of a peculiar construction as will be later described and is designed specifically to withstand tremendous pressures.

This packer 49 can be inflated upon moving the control pipe relative to the sleeve 46 to position the openings 50 in the control pipe in alignment with the openings in the support sleeve 46. This position is best seen in Fig. 2, and is preferably the position assumed when the tool is being lowered into the well bore. These openings 50 and 5| serve as an entry for pressure fiuid to inflate the packer by extending the exible portions 52 thereof.

The lower end of the packer assembly 49 is suitably anchored in a head or collar 53 which is slidably mounted upon the stem 46 and has a packing=54 therein engaging sleeve 46 to prevent leakage between Ythe sleeve and collars YThis collar 53 is slidable on the stem in response to ination of the resilient packing assembly which ywill shorten` as to its length when it extends in diameter.

Thrcadedly connected to the lower end of the support sleeve- 46 is the ow bushing 55 which ,is slidable on the control pipe 34. Bushing 55 has a-series of openings 56 therein so as to permit v`the discharge o r intake of iiuid from the isolated section of the formation. These ports may contain a `strainer 51 to filter the material and prevent clogging of the to'pl. A series of packings 58 =in bushing 55 above and below the ports 56 maintain aseal between the bushing and the control pipe 34.`

This control pipe has a series of openings 60 therein which are arranged to be moved into alignment with the ports 56 as best seen in Fig. 11 so as to-permit either the discharge of liquid or material under pressure from inside of the control pipe as inv the treating, acidizing or cementing of formations or the opening'of these ports may permit the inflow of fiuid from the formation ifthere is'a differential pressure between the inside of the control pipe and the formation as in the case of a testing operation to obtain samples of fluid from the formation.

Connected to this flow bushing 55 and slidable on control pipe 34 is a collar or packer head 6| which carries al second sleeve 62, which' is identical in all respects with the sleeve 46 previously described in the upper packer 6. This support sleeve v62 serves as a connection for the anchor assembly of the packer 4, as will be later described. This support sleeve 62 has a series of openings 64 guarded by the packing 65 on 'each side thereof which are arranged to be aligned with the-openings 66v in the vcontrol pipe for pressure to iniiate the packer` 4. A lower head or collar 61 is mounted on the sleeve 62.

The lower end of this sleeve'62 has an external iiange 69 thereon and carries a cap 68 which'iits over and confines the flange 69 and is threaded into the base or end piece 3 0f the tool. This construction is the same as that described at the top of the upper packer 6 in Fig. 2,

The foot orbase piece 3 has outlets 1| therein and a central opening 12 which extends beyond these outlets into the very bottom of the base piece. It is apparent that when this opening 12 is unobstructed, that a flow of fluid could be discharged from the base piece through the openings 1| or there could be an inflow of fluid into the tool by this means.

Fig. 4, however, shows a go-devil 13 as fitting snugly into this opening 12 and extending beyond the ports 1|. A series of packings 14 above and below ports 1| provide a seal about the go-devil to prevent leakage when it is in the position shown in Fig. 4.

The go-devil is a hollow member having upper and lower ports 15 so that when it is in the position of Figs. 14 or 15 there can be a flowof fluid therethru so as to discharge from the ports 1|. However, when the go-devil is in the position of Figs. 4, 8 or 12,-the lower end of the tool will be closed. v

This Vgri-devil :is of Yparticular construction in that it has a head 16 Athereon which is arranged to receive either the overshot shing tool 11 as seen in Fig. 14, or to receive the overshot'retrieving tool 18,'fas seen in Fig. 15. .Both of these instruments are arranged tolatch'upon the head 16 so as to elevate the go-devil vto the position of Fig. 14. In turn,.the overshot is'then elevated by the control pipe 34,4due to the provisionv of a flange 19 thereon, whichk receives 'the overshot.

The fingers 80 on the overshot serve to latch the overshot to the head 16 and if thisovershot is dropped while the parts are in the position of Fig. 13, it will latch in place. The raising of the control pipe to the position of Fig. 14 thus elevates the go-devil so as to open the tool for-circulation. On the other hand, if the go-'devil is to lbe 'completely retrieved, the overshot fishing tool 18 of Fig. 15 may be lowered upon the'wireline or cable 8| to catch and retrieve the go-devil or-tc catch the flshingtool 11 aswell.

'The parts will be assembled as shown in Figs. 1 Yto 4``inc1usive and lowered into the well bore. The ygo-devil '13 may or may not be imposition as desired, depending upon whether the tool" is tovbe run inv empty of liquid or dry in which instance the go-devil will be in place, 'andthe tool will contain liquid or be 'run wet if the godevil is absent.

Preferably the ltool is run in wet with the godevil missing sq that when it arrives at the elevation of the formation which is to be treated or tested, 'a circulation may beset up either to wash the'well so as to remove any cuttings or sediment which may remain in place, to replace the drilling mud with some other fluid, Vsuch as water, oil or a suitable chemical, or the circulationmay be for the sole purpose of equalizing the drilling mud throughout the well bore. In either event, the circulation may be downwardly through the operating pipe and outwardly through the opening 'H to return upwardly through thewell bore.

The ports 50 and K 66 are preferably 'aligned with ports 5l and 64, respectively, at this time but the packers will not inflate, due to the fact that there is an equal pressure on the inside and the outside thereof. In order to close thevtool and make ready for the test or treating operation, the go-devil will nowbe dropped so that it will fall into the position shown in'Fig. 4 'to close the lower end ofthe tool. I The seating of the go-devil closes the lowerend of the tool and'permits a pressure'to be built up in the control pipe 34 which pressure will pass out through the' openings 5G and 5I to inflate the upper packer 6 andthrough the openings Eiland 66 to infiatethe lower packer 4.

The nextoperation is to manipulate the control pipe 34 by means of the hydraulic'lift so yas to lower ita suicient distance to close oilthe packers Aand lock 'the pressure'liquid therein so that thepackers remain infiate'dand the parts will be moved to the vpositions shown in Figs. 5 to 8` inclusive, with the packers inflated and thef-tool opened for circulation above the packers by moving the openings 3i! and to into alignment as seen -atthetop of Fig. d -This'opens'the tool tothe well'bore above thepacker-and if -desired,circu lation may be established so as to preventgelliiig of theld'rilling fluid or to wash out any sediment which may have occurred during the inflation-of the 'packers or if desired, the circulationmay Abe reversed by reversing' the flow through'the'ow lines 25 and by the vintroduction of iluidfinto the casing zso that' it will'flow downwardlyinto the well bore, enter the openings 39 and the portsv 40 and move upwardly through the control pipe 34 andthe manipulatingstring of pipe. 8./ vIn-fthis manner the static head or Lpressurevinside of the tool may be substantially reduced 4by utilizing a liquid of lighter specific-gravity than the mud or other uid which was theretoforein the well bore. Such anoperation is desirable because the heavy mud is'fnecessary in the well bore to hold .back pressure in .thefformation which is to .bei-tested butafterthe packers have 'been inilatedand set, then theisolated'section of the formation and the high pressure therein will be blocked off and a flushing fluid can be circulated into the well head to reducethe static head and to encouragefthe iluid-Ifronithe formation to enter the toolwhen itis opened.

` In some instances in order to reduce or comlpletely remove any pressure from within the tool upon or against the isolated section of formation, it may be desirable to empty the drill pipe of liquid. To do thisthe tool will"be manipulated to vopen fthe' ports` above the packersafter `-they have been set and locked and to' then force air or gas down the drill* pipe to expel the liquid intothe Well bore. All or any part of the liquid canebe thus expelled'to'reduce the loadV in the pipe. The ports are then closed and the t'ool opened to the formation with-littleor no pressure present in the tool.V Y-

' If desired; the tool'can be closed after setting the packersand a swab or bailer run into remove as much ofthe liquid in the pipe-as'desired. "A

Regardless of which operation is 'beingper-A formed, the tool may be opened to the formation or close-:l as desired, to obtain informationv as to conditions' existing. If an `acidizingor cementing operation is to be carried on, of course, the material to be applied will be forcedy downward ly thru the operating pipe to discharge fromthe ports 56'into the isolated section of the forma# tion. If a cement squeeze job is being lperformed, suitable pressure may be maintained upon the material untilran initial set is taken. Inother situations, however, the tool maybe retrievedtojthe surface containing the sample and if this is desired then of coursejthe ports 5l)V and 5l inthe upper packer and 64 and 66 in the lower packer will' be moved into alignment so asjto permit the packer to deflate, Whereupon, the lapparatus can be lremoved and the sample recovered.' j f@ v .)y -If thesample is removed and it is'desiredto vnesetthetool atsome other formation or Aelevauen, the packerSean be defined as just described and'thenreset as originally' explained aftermovging the tool; to the .desired elevation. In ,con nection with any of these operations circulation may .be had just as soon asfthe sample is removed. In connection with the'cementing-z or acidizing, the same procedure can be followed, except for the swabbing of the tool which may beresorted to in orderto clean the cement or acid from the toolA or, as previously' described, circulation maybe had to veffect such removal. Removal of the tool or the resetting of the tool at, different elevationscan, of course, be'carried outwiththe acidizing or cementing.Y

Vonine other hand it seems also obvious that the tool'may be assembled with but one packer instead of the twopackers shown. 'Under vthese circumstances the packer would separatethe well bore into twowsections and the vseetiorfrof the well below the packer would thus be protected 7 against the column of liquid in the well thereabove. Such an operation may be employed where the test or treatment is to take place near the bottom of a well bore.

.'I'he tool adapts itself for a multiple of uses,

due to the fact that circulation can be had either above or below the packers; that the packers can be inflated and deflated at will by the mere manipulation of the control pipe; that accurate manipulationof the control pipe can be Iobtained by the arrangement of the hydraulic lift so that the control pipe can be positioned as desired to open or close any particular set of openings and when the tool is used in combination with the manipulation of the go-devil, then circulation may be had below the tool either to condition the liquid in the well or to alter the liquid-or to assist in the application of pressure inthe release of the packers. l Y In view of the fact that the` tool is designed to withstand tremendous pressures, a special anchoring structure has been provided for the resilientportions of the packer. This anchoring structure is best seen in Fig. 22, which shows only one end of a typical arrangement of the packerassembly structure. In this arrangement the anchor assembly is made up of the upper head 6| of one of the packers and is illustrated as including the packer or anchornipple 81, the sleeve or anchor collar 63 and retainer ring 86, and connected to the anchor pipe sleeve 62 (the control pipe 34 being omitted in Fig. 22). This enlarged view in Fig. 22 shows additional details not illustrated in the smaller scale forms in the other figures.

To assist in providing a seal between the head 6l and the support sleeve 62, an additional packing 84 has been provided. Disposed around the sleeve 62 is an inner seal tube 85 of resilient material. 'I'his tube is shown as being held in expanded position at one end by a seal and retainer ring 86 which normally forces the tube against the anchor or packer nipple 81 which is shown as being threaded at 88 to the inside of the lower end of the head 6I.

A series of packing rings 86' are shown on the inside of the ring 86 and maintain a seal between the ring and the pipe or sleeve 62 and tend to hold the serrations on the outside of the ring in close engagement with the resilient tube l85. A packing 89 provides an additional seal between the end of nipple 81 andhead 6I. 'I'he pressure fluid passing thru the openings such as Edin the sleeve 62 will flow along the outside ofthe sleeve 62 and will occupy the space 90 between the inner seal tube 85 and the sleeve 62. The packinggaskets 86 and 89 assist in conflning this pressure. This pressure inside of the inner seal tube forces the inner seal tube against the inner face of the anchor nipple 81 so that it is automatically self sealing to prevent leakage between the nipple and the upper surface of the inner seal tube.

' In order to conne this inner seal tube a plurality of strands of reinforcing material 9| are arranged in laminated form over the .outside of the inner tube.

j fFlg. 22 shows four layers of these wires or strands and the broken away portion at the right hand lower side of Fig. 22 illustrates how successive layers of these wires are cross wrapped or wrapped in opposite directions on a helix so as to permit of expansion and contraction in order to confine the inner seal tube 85. The two inside layers of wire are shown as terminating at92 afterv having been'tted over and closely'c'ontacting a plurality: of ribs or ridges 93 and 94 formed on the outer periphery of the nipple 81. Suitable wrappings 95 of wire or other material serve to confine the ends of the strands. .The two layers 96 overlie thewrappings 95 and-contact an additionalseries of ridges or ribs 91 and are in turn anchored bythe wrappings 98 closely adjacent 'the upper end of the nipple 81.

An outer'casinglll of a suitable resilient material is then positioned overl these strands of wireso as to form a complete packer assembly. This outer casing is inturn held in place by the sleeve V63' which overlies the end thereof; In order to provide for the expansion 'or movement of both the outer casing |08 and the inner seal tube 85, an `anchor collar IUI extends slightly. beyond the outer'sleeve 63and has its lower Aend curved at lll2y so-as to` avoid cutting or-damage to the outer casing when it moves to the expanded position shown for instance in Figs. 6 and 10.

It should be apparent that when a pressure approximating 10,000 pounds per'square inch is forced thru the openings and into theA packer assembly, that thereis atremendouspullupon the inner seal tube and the reinforcing strands. It has been found in actual practice, however, that an anchorage of the tube-here disclosed serves adequately to resist the pull of the ends of the strands and withstand pressures approximating 10,000 pounds per square inch.

.The packer must withstand tremendous pressures of this sort because in some instances when the packers are expanded, as shown in Figs. 10 and 11, and the' flow bushing-55vopened by aligning the ports 56 and .60, it is possible that the pressure inside of the control and the operating pipes may be reduced to zero or to atmospheric pressure, either due to flow of gas whichmay be permitted toV expel all of the liquid from the operating pipe, or due to the fact that the operating pipe may have been swabbed out to encourage an inflow'of fluid from the formation. Under these conditions, if the tool is set in a deep well where the pressure offa static column of liquid may approximate 10,000I pounds per square inch, then it seems-obvious that a substantially equivalent `pressure will be necessary inside of the inflated packer in order to hold the packer in position against the walls of theformation lor casing in which it is set. It is possible. therefore, thatthere may be a high differential pressure across the packer of several thousand pounds per square inch.

l The particular arrangement of the strands of reinforcing wire or other material can, of course, be varied but the present arrangement discloses a plurality of wires lying side by side constituting each layer and wrapped in a helix about the entire tube or the adjacent layer. Adjacent layers are shown as having been wrapped in OppQ- site directions so as to permit a working or movement of the relative layers with respect to each other, which is desirable when the packer expands.

Fig. 23 shows a view of the end of the packer which is the same as Fig. 22 except for modifcation in the anchoring of the web or reinforcing strand 0f material. All of the parts are the same except the nipple 81 which is shown in Fig. 23 at IID. The intermediate ribs 94 have been omitted and a smooth peripheral surface I l I of somewhat reduced diameter is shown with the enlargement H2 near the lower end of the nipple, the same as provided in Fig. 22. This con- .,Q struction furnishes a shoulder -II`3"-over which the strands 9I will pass andwill be forced-downwardly againstthe peripheralsurface III The insidelayerI I I4 of these strandsfwill pass ANajlong this surface. I II to the point 1H5 ivvherelthey-will be bent back` or reversed-.and ,passed1am/er; the upper end IIS of a collar,I l;7,.,so as togvrmly anchor them in position. VThe collar IIT maybe formed integral with the sleeve- -IIO bymachining suitable openings therethrufor the strands, or the collar may be in the form of a separate band firmly anchored by welding or otherwise after the strands have been laid in position.

To anchor the outer layer IIS of the reinforcing web, an additional anchor collar I20 has been provided and it will overlie both the layers IIS and II4. The layer IIB will be reversed as at I2I and turned back over the upper edge of this anchor collar |20. v`The outer covering can then be applied as previously described in connection with Fig. 22 and the other structure assembled so as to provide a permanent assembly.

The foregoing arrangement provides a simplified form for anchoring the Wires or web construction and illustrates a nat strap like reinforcing member, as seen by the overturned ends in Fig. 23 as compared with the wires shown in Fig. 22. It will be noted that the layers IIIl and I I8 are cross wrapped so as to provide for expansion and contraction. The collar |20 may be positined in any desired manner by welding or otherwise so as to seat it inside of the reduced portion of the sleeve IIO.

Broadly, the invention also contemplates a particular anchoring for high pressure packers embodying an inner seal tube, a jacket of conning strands and an outer casing oi'resilient material overlying and sealing the strands.

This application is a continuation of my prior co-pending patent application, Serial 473,928, iled January 29, 1943, for the same invention and is entitled to the benefit of the filing date of said prior copending application.

What is claimed is:

l. A hydraulically inflatable packer for wells comprising an inner tube of expansible material a separate annular anchor nipple overlying each end of said inner tube, an expansible sheath including metal strands surrounding said inner tube and said anchor nipples, an outer tubular casing of resilient material overlying said sheath, and a separate packer head for each end of said packer anchoring said sheath between such head and said anchor nipples.

2. A hydraulically inatable packer including, a resilient inner tube, a separate annular anchor nipple overlying each end of said inner tube, a separate packer head for each end of said packer and secured to the adjacent anchor nipple, an expansible metal stranded sheath applied over said nipples and surrounding said liner, a collar about the stranded sheath with the ends of the strands projecting through the collar and bent back over the outside of said collar, an outer resilient casing overlying said sheath and rigid annular anchor means surrounding and securing the ends of said casing and said sheath.

3. A hydraulic packer for a well comprising, an inner tube of resilient material, a separate packer head for receiving each end of said tube, a separate packer nipple tting adjacent each of said heads and surrounding said tube, an expansible sheath including metal web surrounding and conning said inner tube and overlying each of said nipples, and an outer tubular casing of resilient material overlying said sheath,

l0 said packer. heads cooperating with said nipples to anchor the'end portionsl'of said sheath.v

4.A hydraulically =inflat`able packer comprisl ing, an expansible'inn'er tube, anfe'Xpansible annular metal' Vsheathv overlyingv and! 'surrounding saidinner' tube, an youter'tubularf 'casir'ig lof'resilient material surrounding said sheath, and a'separate annular anchor means adjacent each end of said packer anchoring each end of said sheath and outer tubular casing.

5. A hydraulic packer comprising, a pair of spaced, annular heads, an annularA inner liner of resilient material .having an end extending into each of said heads, an expansible reinforcing sheath extending longitudinally of and surrounding said liner, and anchor means adjacent each end of said packer surrounding and confining each said sheath and inner liner.

6. A hydraulic packer comprisingV a pair of spaced, annular packer heads, an inner tube of resilient material having an end extending into each of said heads, a plurality of strands of wires extending longitudinally of said tube and surrounding and conning said tube, a separate anchor nipple engaging each of said packer heads, said nipples overlying and surrounding said inner tube and underlying said strands of wires, an outer expansible casing surrounding said strands, and annular anchor means adjacent each end.l of said packer anchoring each end of said casing and strands of wire.

7. A hydraulically inflatable packer compris-A ing, an annular sheath of metallic reinforcing material, a resilient inner liner tube extending longitudinally within said sheath to confine the inflating liquid within said tube, an outer casing of resilient material surrounding said sheath, means anchoring the ends of said sheath, said means including a separate nipple around said liner tube and within each end of the sheath, and a collar fitting around said sheath and overlying each of said nipples.

8. In a hydraulically inflatable packer, an inner tube of resilient material, an expansible sheath including metal strands surrounding and conning said inner tube, and anchor means adjacent each end of said packer securing each end of said sheath and receiving each end of said tube.

9. In a hydraulically inflatable packer, a resilient inner tube, an expansible sheath including metal strands surrounding and confining said inner tube, an outer casing surrounding said coniining sheath, and anchor means adjacent each end of said packer securing each end of said sheath and receiving each end of said tube.

10. A hydraulically inflatable packer including a resilient inner tube, a separate anchor nipple overlying each end of said tube, an expansible sheath including metal strands applied over said nipples and surrounding said tube, and a collar about each end of said sheath, said collar cooperating with said nipple to secure said sheath therebetween.

1l. A hydraulic packer comprising an inner tube of. expansible material, a separate anchor nipple overlying each end of said tube, an expansible sheath including metal strands surrounding said inner tube and said anchor nipples, an outer tubular casing of resilient material overlying said sheath, a separate packer head for Y each end of said packer, said packer head cooperating with said nipple to anchor the end portions of said sheath, and seal means forming a seal between said packer head and said inner tube.

12. A hydraulic packer comprising a resilient inner tube, a separate anchor nipplenreceiving each end of said tube, an annular sheath of metallic material surrounding said tube` and overlyink said nipples. an outer casing of resilient material surrounding said sheath, and a collar about each end of said sheath, said collar cooperating with said nipple to grip said sheath therebetween.

JOHN LYNES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number 12 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Spang -..2---- May 8, 1906 Callahan July 22, 1924 Phipps Aug. 12, 1930 Freelander Jan. 10, 1939 Burt Apr. 9, 1949 Y VLynes Jan. 7, 1941 Boynton Jan. 28, 1941 Crickmer Aug. 26, 1941 

